Hi Mad_Dog_Lady, 

I am sorry to hear about your kidney cancer diagnosis and that it was found by accident when you were in hospital with Epstein Barr virus. I can imagine it was a lot to take in and even more so as you seem to have had such a difficult year already so you must be feeling exhausted. It seems that all this has had an impact on your sleep and during these nights of interrupted sleep it is not unusual for our minds to go into overdrive and for our worries to feel all consuming. If your quality of sleep doesn't improve, don't hesitate to talk to your doctor about it and I am sure that they will be able to suggest something to help you get some much needed rest at night. 

It's difficult as well having to go through this and managing work after a cancer diagnosis. You might be interested in reading the information Macmillan have on Work and Cancer which I hope you will find useful. Some of it might not be relevant to you as you are now registered as a supply teacher and hopefully able to work more flexibly  but still needing to pay the bills which must be such a worry for you. It might be worth contacting Macmillan for guidance on the financial support available and for work advice and you can call their financial advisors on 0808 808 00 00 for free. 

I also noticed tonight another member Sargey who is dealing with kidney cancer and therefore might be a good person for you to connect with. They posted this thread on their experience with kidney cancer recently so don't hesitate to drop them a line if you would like to do so. 

I hope things get better for you and that the fatigue lessens. I will now let our members who have been through something similar before come and say hello and share their story with you. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator